This invention relates to edible products and a method of manufacturing such products, such that the product can have a variety of shapes and sizes without particular regard to the original food's shape or textural characteristics.
Mass production of convenience foods that are uniform in shape and size is difficult. Such food products are made by forming an extrudable food slurry containing alginates and extruding the slurry into a desired shape. The shaped food product is exposed to an alkaline earth ion solution, thereby forming a gel-like skin around the extrudated product. The gel-like skin is formed by subjecting alginates to the action of alkaline earth ions at the surface of the extruded food product. The skin encases the food product, thereby protecting the food slurry. Thus, different food shapes can be extruded.
There are several problems with this method. One problem is that although a skin encases the food product, the skin is not very durable so the extruded food products break more easily at transfer points, and therefore causes the extruded food products to be of irregular shapes and sizes. In addition, alginates have sensory and textural characteristics which are unappealing, due to the sliminess that is associated with the skin. There is also difficulty in using alginates because they are derived from seaweed and therefore are not readily available. Alginates are also very temperature sensitive, which hinders their use in mass production.
Thus, it would be desirable to make edible products that are texturally acceptable, durable, and of uniform size and shape. Ideally, the ingredients would be readily available and would not be temperature sensitive.